Complicated
by ShortNotVerticallyChallenged
Summary: Life was complicated. That is something that applies to everyone in many different ways. For Seth Clearwater and Persis Jackson, complicated didn't really seem to cover any of it however. Fem!Percy/Seth.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I own nothing. This is a rewrite of this chapter which I wrote forever ago. The beginning is set between The Battle of the Labyrinth and The Last Olympian and between New Moon and Eclipse. I wasn't happy with the characterisation of people or with the way that the relationship between Percy and Seth progressed and I'm hoping that you enjoy this version of the story.**

* * *

Somehow Percy had survived an entire year of school. One year without being kicked out, which was a record by her standards. One year without having any weird encounters at school (ignoring orientation, where she was forced to kill a set of cheerleaders). She couldn't help the sense of relief that came with that. Relief, pride and actual joy that she had managed. School had never been her forte, but she had always been serious about pursuing an education despite the natural barriers that had only been explained to her in the last few years.

Now her step-father had gotten a new job though, one that was going to make them leave Manhattan. In honesty, Percy didn't mind all too much. She was kind of happy to be going to a place where there weren't people who could judge her based on the rumours and stories passed from one school to the next.

The best part was, they were living a lot closer to the beach.

That definitely made her feel happy about the situation. Even if she was sad that she'd be leaving Rachel behind. It had been a good time, having an actual friend at school. The fact that that friend happened to be a clear-sighted mortal that understood everything she was going through had made it even better.

They'd already moved to the town called Forks, Rachel promising that she'd come down once they'd settled in. Apparently, that meant that she was arriving tomorrow. As usual, Rachel's definitions of a particular word didn't quite line up. After all, there would still be boxes that required unpacking and more work to be done. Despite that, the brunette was more than happy that her friend would be stopping by. Especially considering she wouldn't have a chance to see Annabeth before the next holiday at Camp Halfblood.

Sally had walked into her daughter's room, leaning against the doorframe and looking at the girl sitting on the bed. She was finding it hard to believe that her daughter was already fifteen. It was, however, even harder to believe that the demigod in front of her was sitting still, lost in thoughts whilst looking at a photo. Percy had never been good at keeping still, constantly on the move and constantly getting in trouble. Sally had never been surprised at any of Percy's stories, despite knowing that her daughter didn't tell her everything.

Percy had always tried to protect her, first against Gabe and she continued trying now.

"Do you want to go to the beach?" she asked, watching her daughter launch to her feet as her head snapped in her direction. It only took a second before the half-blood had calmed herself down, a smile on her face as she nodded at her mother. It broke Sally's heart to know that the panic she experienced at being surprised wasn't an overreaction. At least she could take care of herself now.

"That sounds great, is Paul coming?" Percy asked her mum, head tilted to the side as she walked towards her.

"He needs to get a few more things in order, but he'll be coming later," Sally explained, turning and walking away to get her own swimsuit. It had only taken both of them 10 minutes to get ready for the beach, and the two women were immediately in the car on their way. This was probably one of the main reasons that both of them were alright with moving to the wettest place in America.

Besides, if she was attacked, it would probably put the Daughter of Poseidon at an advantage just because of how it was always raining. She'd have an energy boost that any enemy wouldn't have.

Perhaps it was unfair, but if it meant survival then it didn't bother Percy.

Today though, today it was sunny. A small part of Percy was amused, thinking that perhaps Apollo had arranged this as a welcoming gift. If this was rare, then both Sally and Percy were going to take advantage of this.

The only problem now was battling her own impatience. Driving to La Push seemed to take forever in the mind of the half-blood who couldn't wait to throw herself into the water.

The first glimpses of the sea though, those were totally worth the time that it took. Everything seemed to be shining beautifully under the light. It was mesmerising. Her eyes had been so focussed on the glimpses of the ocean, she'd completely missed the teenagers up on the cliffs. At least, that was until she noticed one of them jump off the cliff. Her sea green eyes widened.

It looked like fun. That would be nothing for her, she knew that after previous falling from greater heights. But still, the opportunity to do it recreationally, rather than jumping because if she didn't she'd definitely die, was exciting.

The moment Sally had parked the car, her daughter was already outside. The woman couldn't help but laugh at the eager way in which child had reacted. She supposed it was to be expected though, the sea was a strong part of her. More than that, it was her only link to her father. Sally's smile slipped for a moment, but she pulled it together as she finally left the car.

Naturally, her daughter had completely forgotten to actually take her bag with her, leaving her towels in the car. Sally grabbed both of the bags, heading to the shore where Percy had already stripped her clothes and walked into the water. Sally knew that so far, Percy hadn't allowed herself to get wet, keeping the water off her skin.

It was something Percy had unknowingly done since she was a toddler, always having hated walking into the cold water. Once she was neck deep, that was when she'd normally allow the water to actually come in contact with her. The temperature would shock her for a moment, the first instant of discomfort. It was equivalent to jumping into a pool as opposed to slowly walking into it.

Now, she was still walking in calmly, the water at her hips.

Half a minute later, she had disappeared under the water, Sally sitting and watching from the shore. She just waited for Percy to reappear, knowing that she would whenever she felt ready to show up once again. It was nice for both of them to just have a chance to relax though.

* * *

Things had changed a lot over the last months.

He was still adjusting to getting home and the house being oddly silent. His mother continued to look as tired as ever, the toll of her husband's death continuing to wear her out. But despite that, Seth had hope. Seth had found his purpose in what he was doing. He was one of the werewolves protecting his people, people he had grown up admiring that had gone radio silent went back to acknowledging him now. He had answers to the numerous questions that had plagued him as people he knew suddenly changed, and especially to the sudden change in the relationship between Leah, Sam and Emily.

His sister wasn't quite at the point where she could get away with saying that she was over it. Seth was used to the bitter thoughts that plagued her mind when they were on patrol. But he still knew that she preferred knowing what had changed everything as opposed to being in the dark.

What Seth would never fully understand was how she despised imprinting, or for that matter why Paul despised it. Leah had more of a reason than the other wolf, but even then, couldn't they see that that also meant that there was someone out there for them as well?

In less than a year three of the wolves had already imprinted on other people. Sam, Jared and Quil. Which, to be perfectly honest, seemed like a ridiculous track record for a phenomenon that they had thought would be rare.

Seth knew that they would all find their imprints. And he knew that when they had imprinted, everyone else would agree with him that it was a positive thing.

Now he just had to wait for his imprint to walk into his life. And even if it took a while, he knew that when he found his imprint, they would be perfect for him. They would be worth the wait.

A laugh escaped him as he watched one of his pack brothers jump from the cliff. Without thinking, he got to his own feet, also launching himself off of the cliff and revelling in the rush of adrenaline that followed.


	2. Chapter 2

It was raining heavily the next day, but Percy had still, somehow, convinced Sally that it would be nice to go to the beach. Paul and Sally had left her in the rain almost immediately, going off to a cafe somewhere in La Push. They anyway needed some time to themselves so Percy didn't mind. For her, this was anyway something very calming.

"Hey dad," she whispered to the ocean. She wasn't entirely sure whether or not he could hear her, and the entire thing was a very one sided conversation, but she hoped that sometimes he might just hear what she was saying. "So we've moved to the wettest place on Earth… which is nice, but I wish that I could just stay dry," _without being weird_ , she added on mentally. Those were the unsaid words in case anyone would have managed to sneak up on her. "Mum's finally happy though, so I'm glad that she's with someone that really loves her now. Not like it was with Gabe… and he treats me really good too. I guess that's what a normal dad is meant to be like."

Sighing, the girl had changed her position, hugging her legs to her chest. A normal dad. A normal family. It was something she had dreamed of growing up with Gabe but now… was that even possible or was she ultimately destined to ruin it?

That was likely.

Percy had completely lost track of time, and rather quickly. Not sure if she had spent minutes or hours just sitting at the beach. What she did know, was that her clothes were completely soaked through. It would be so easy to dry herself off. But that would be all too suspicious if anyone did happen to see her, a girl who had been sitting in the rain, just walk off completely dry.

"Are you alright?" a voice asked her from behind, it was unfamiliar, causing her to practically leap to her feet. Turning, the man in question was a lot larger than she was. Definitely over 6' tall, well muscled in a way that would make any girl swoon. A smile was on his face, amusement showing in the brown eyes. It made Percy let out a soft chuckle herself.

"Sorry, I didn't realise you came up behind me," she offered sheepishly, before actually focussing on the question he had asked her. "And yeah I'm fine, just thinking."

"In the rain?" he teased, raising his eyebrows at her.

"Where else?" she retorted, a smirk playing on her own lips.

"Inside, where it's warm and you can still see the rain?" he offered, causing Percy to grin, though she managed to stop herself from laughing.

"Unfortunately, I think I'm too wet to be allowed inside any places," she answered, pointing to her own clothing. The man across from her looked her over before nodding in agreement.

"If you want, I have a friend who lives close by, she wouldn't mind giving you a towel and some clothes," at that moment, all alarms went off in Percy's head. Her green eyes scanned over him, trying to work out what his motive was, her body tensing up.

"My parents will be coming around to pick me up soon," she murmured cautiously, it was something that Embry had quickly picked up on.

"Embry, what's taking so long?" a boy cried from behind him. The boy Percy was talking to turned to him, and similarly Percy was trying to analyse him. They looked similar to one another, something that put her on edge from experience. Swallowing she took a deep breath, trying to slow her heart down so she could concentrate. Maybe they just all looked similar? After all, he did have a different face, a different shade of brown in his eyes.

"Well unlike you, she seems to be aware of stranger danger," the man, Embry, had shot back at the new boy. At that statement his eyes had turned on her, pausing as their eyes met. A number of different emotions seemed to flit across his face, though Percy was still too far on edge to properly notice.

After a few moments, and after he'd been jabbed in the ribs by Embry, Seth had finally pulled himself together taking a step towards her.

"Hi, I'm Seth Clearwater," he introduced himself, offering to shake her hand. She hesitated, before taking his hand, surprised at his heat. There was still a grin on his face, a way in which he radiated happiness, something that seemed so contagious. "And this was is my friend Embry Call."

"Percy Jackson," she answered, watching for any signs of recognition. That was the last step, when there was nothing to show that they knew the name, she finally figured that they probably weren't monsters. She was hoping her theory was right.

* * *

Seth had been feeling impatient. They had just finished their patrol, but the girl that they had spotted over an hour ago was still just sitting in the rain, looking out to the sea, was still sitting there. At one point he'd picked up a conversation that she seemed to be having with no one. The main thing that he got out of it was 'I miss you, Dad,' which didn't really tell him much.

Embry had gone over to check that everything was alright. Seth on the other hand, was sitting in the car, waiting for Embry to hurry up so that they could get to Sam and Emily's before all the food was gone.

After a couple of minutes of watching Embry interact with the girl, he'd finally pulled himself out of the car. "Embry, what's taking so long?" he called, drawing the attention from the two of them to him. The fourteen year old werewolf was starting to think that maybe Embry had imprinted on the girl that he had approached.

He was shocked when he actually looked into the green eyes of the girl in front of him. Within seconds, she had become the most important thing in his world. The next thing that went through his mind was, 'I've imprinted', two words that did a lot of things for him. He was excited, nervous, ecstatic. He had found his soulmate after only three months after he had phased. It had only been three months of wishing that he would find her and way too much enthusiastic hope. Both of those things clearly paid off in his favour.

When Embry elbowed him, he glared at his friend for a moment (who was just grinning at him in amusement), before turning his attention back to the green eyed girl in front of him. "I'm Seth Clearwater… and this is Embry," Embry's introduction was an afterthought. The young werewolf almost having forgotten to introduce his friend. But the introductions were complete and she hadn't run away yet. "What's your name?"

"Percy Jackson," she answered. Percy, it was a weird name for a girl, although somehow it just felt right to Seth. A grin was still plastered on his face.

"You know the offer still stands, you can call your parents and let them know the address," Embry intervened, now sure that he had to find a way to introduce Percy to the pack. Beyond that, make her feel comfortable with them. Unlike most of the other imprints, Percy didn't know them at all.

Worse, she was unfamiliar with the legends.

He felt that Seth's imprint might have a much harder time coming to terms with things than the other imprints had so far.

"I don't have a cell," she answered. "But thanks for the offer?"

"You'll freeze to death out here," Seth had intervened, pulling out his own cell and passing it to the girl in question. She looked almost troubled at how insistent the two were being… but if she was going to call her parents and tell them who she was with…

"Are you sure that you won't mind me getting your car wet?" she questioned, still clearly cautious whilst she fiddled with a pen. She was still debating whether or not agreeing to go with them was going to be a bad idea. Green eyes focussed on the cell phone being held out to her by the younger man. By Seth. His enthusiastic nod and heart warming smile won her over as she reached out to accept the phone that he was offering her.

Despite not having a phone of her own, or perhaps because she didn't have a phone of her own, Percy dialled her mother's cell number without needing to think about it.

"Hey mum?"

"Percy," Sally's voice showed the surprise at being called by her own daughter from a cell phone number. A pay phone was way more likely. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm all good mum. Are you far away?" because if her mum was close by that would get her out of the entire situation. Without needing to feel rude or guilty considering how happy the one guy seemed to be making another friend. Was that a weird trait?

Percy would need to ask Rachel when she arrived.

"We're just back in Forks at the moment sweetie, doing the grocery shopping. If you want we can be there to pick you up in about half an hour? You're still at Second Beach right?"

"Actually I just met some nice people that have offered that I can go to theirs to dry off, is it alright if I go? They're gonna send you the address from this phone…"

Percy was still feeling hesitant, and she was wondering whether or not her mother would also be feeling the same way. It surprised her to no end when her mother brightly responded. "That's fine! Let us know what time we should get you if you want to stay over for a little bit! It'd be good for you to meet a few people…" if anyone tried to say that Sally wasn't the most easy going, understanding mother that existed, Percy would just need to use this conversation to prove them wrong.

Especially considering her daughter nearly died on a semi-regular basis.

"Thanks mom, love you," she said quickly, listening to her mother repeat the sentiment before hanging up on her. She kept a tight grip on riptide as she allowed herself to be ushered towards a car that she hadn't realised was parked right near the beach.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Just letting you know the third chapter is all of this rewrite that is available right now. I may have another chapter up in the next couple of days. For everyone following this story, I'd appreciate your views on what I've changed. For people who are new to this story, welcome and I'd still love to get your feedback on my work. I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

Neither of the men had tried to kill her yet.

That was a good sign in Percy's eyes. Especially when the younger looking one had immediately texted her mother the address for her to be picked up. Both of those things insinuated that she would be alive when her mother came to get her. It didn't mean that she released her grip on Riptide even while she smiled in a conversation with Embry and Seth. Both of them were ridiculously welcoming, and Seth definitely stood out in terms of kindness.

"I'm going to let them know that we're here and grab you a towel," Embry commented, subtly winking at Seth as he launched himself out of the car immediately and into the house in question.

"You're really late," Paul remarked as Embry entered the house, poking his head into the kitchen to see what was going on. His stomach rumbled at the sight of the freshly baked cookies and he shoved a whole one into his mouth before Emily could tell him off for it.

"Where's Seth?" Emily asked, smacking Embry's hand away as he went for a second one. A smile played on her lips despite the way that her eyes narrowed at him. Embry couldn't help but grin.

"Can I have a towel?" he asked, though his grin stayed plastered on his face.

"What did you do?" she'd asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. She wasn't exactly sure what they needed a towel for, an if possible Embry's grin stretched even further at the question.

"Seth and I stopped at the beach to see a lovely girl who we've brought home with us," he responded innocently, watching everyone in the room's eyes widen. An imprint, they all assumed that that was what he meant but who were they talking about. Emily turned to glance out of the window, seeing Seth walking towards the house at a slow pace with a girl beside him.

"Seth?" she asked lightly, as she walked towards her cupboards to pull out a towel.

"Yes," Embry confirmed her suspicions and the rest of the pack was suddenly incredibly loud at the new discovery. Smiling, somewhat exasperatedly at them and the fact that she was pretty sure that they were shovelling the cookies down their throats now that she had left the room, she began making her way back towards her front door. It turned out that she was just in time as the two teenagers were standing right at the door.

"Hey, I'm Emily," she greeted, offering the towel towards the dark haired girl. She noticed the green eyes scan over her, though they didn't linger on the scars like a person's eyes usually did after they met her. It made the girl in front of her catch her interest, making her assume that she had already seen something similar.

At least she wouldn't have to worry about Sam. What had caught her interest was the grey streaks that ran throughout the girl's hair.

But she could be polite about that, just as the girl in front of her had been polite about the scars.

"I'm Percy, thanks for being alright with me coming over…" Percy greeted, smiling shyly at the woman in front of her that she assumed owned the house. It would make sense, considering the towel she'd been offered.

"No problem! Everyone's always welcome here, we have an open door policy" she commented lightly, though the brown eyes quickly went back to evaluating the girl in front of her. "They're probably not your size, but I have some clothes that you can borrow so you don't need to wear those."

It drew Percy's attention back to the fact that she was literally dripping water from the clothes that she was wearing. Nodding slightly she allowed herself to be shuffled into the house, Seth being shooed into the kitchen by Emily as the woman shooed Percy into what she could only assume was the woman's bedroom after assuring her she didn't need to have a shower to warm up. Her motherly nature made Percy feel instantly at ease, releasing the grip on riptide and shoving it into the pocket of Emily's jeans.

The halfblood was trying to calm herself down to go and join the rather boisterous group.

* * *

The moment that Seth had entered the kitchen people were congratulating him. Despite his sister's silence he could tell that even she was somewhat happy for him. He'd grinned at everyone, taking a free seat next to Paul before shoving a cookie whole into his mouth.

"So what's her name?" Jared was grinning at him, Kim in his arm, and Seth suspected that they had a bet on what his imprints name was.

"Percy Jackson," Seth had responded immediately, not noticing the amused look playing over Paul's face.

"If I hadn't seen her walk past I'd be asking if you were sure that she was a girl," his amused grin only grew at the flustered look on the younger boys face. He'd only backed off seeing Sam's stern look aimed at him. Emily came back into the kitchen moments later, checking on the food that she was making as an afternoon snack. In anyone else's view it would probably look like she was preparing dinner for all of them.

"She seems lovely, Seth," she'd commented brightly, happy for the child. All of them were aware that there could be issues when it came to her finding things out. But that was going to be a problem that they would deal with in the future. Conversations sprang up as usual, only dying down when Percy had entered the room with an almost shy wave.

The clothes didn't exactly fit. The jeans were rolled up so they didn't drag along the ground and the tank top she was wearing was also a large fit. It did show that the lean girl had a somewhat muscular build, which was interesting. Seth thought she was beautiful. Athletic build, mediterranean complexion and sea green eyes?

He was certain that he would've been head over heels for her if he met her before he'd phased.

Emily tried to smile reassuringly, seeing how tense the girl had gotten again. "Come in, grab yourself a cookie before the boys eat them all."

The girl had done as she was told, although the attention was focussed on her as introductions began. Emily almost felt sorry for her, considering how many people there were for her to introduce herself to. Probably too many people for her to remember all of the names.

"So how old are you Percy?" someone had asked, drawing the sea green eyes up to focus on another male. She was fairly certain it was Jared asking, only because he was with another girl.

"I just turned fifteen," she responded lightly, though Emily couldn't help her eyes from shifting back to the thick grey streaks. She looked older than she was, and not just because of the streaks. It was something in her eyes, the way that she held herself.

"So you're older than Seth, he's just turned fourteen, always knew he had a thing for older women…" Paul had commented, he would've made a more abrasive joke, but that was enough and Sam's dark look was focussed on him again. Percy seemed to have not even noticed Seth being teased about liking her, instead looking at Seth in shock.

"You're fourteen?"

An awkward laugh escaped Seth, giving Percy a light shrug. "We grow quick here," he'd excused lightly, Percy giving a slow nod though they were all pretty certain that she was still caught off guard. What they didn't know was how Percy's mind raced through all the possibilities of whether or not they were mortal again. She pushed it aside as the conversations kept going, figuring they were either genetically gifted or on steroids. Not like she could judge if they fell into either category. It wasn't long until the attention was turned back towards Percy though, questioning where she was from.

An hour and a half later, Percy was halfway through eating a muffin and laughing with the group when her mother rang the doorbell to pick her up. She even smiled at the sight of her daughter among the group before they left, returning home to Rachel.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews on the updated version of this story! I'm glad that you're enjoying it! Someone has commented on Percy in this world being more mellow than in canon, and that is true. She has more bite in this chapter because of her familiarity with Rachel. I made her relatively mellow because she was, originally, on edge and concerned, but trying not to draw too much attention to that fact or herself.**

* * *

"You made friends? I'm so proud of you!" Rachel had cooed the second after the girls had hugged each other tightly. Percy rolled her eyes (mostly in amusement but also realising that maybe, just maybe, she shouldn't miss Rachel) at the other girl's antics.

"I do have friends that aren't you Rachel," she commented lightly, as the two of them scampered upstairs into Percy's room to get some privacy. The bedroom had been painted blue before they had moved any of the furniture in, and thankfully a bed and desk were already in the room. Paul must have moved a spare mattress in on the ground while she had been at the beach.

Percy couldn't help but smile at his thoughtfulness.

In all of her childhood this was what she imagined having a father would be like. Not like Gabe, or what her father eventually turned out to be. Her eyes briefly glanced over to the sand dollar she had been given for her fifteenth birthday before shaking that thought immediately. Poseidon would never play the role of her father in the same way that Paul was now doing it. But she couldn't complain, he definitely was a better parent than most of the gods were.

"Really, I never noticed any at school…" Rachel had retorted innocently, though the grin on her face gave her away immediately. Percy was tempted to stick her tongue out at the other girl, but she managed to contain the childish response.

"I was too busy trying to get away from you to make friends there," Percy deadpanned. It wasn't entirely untrue. Rachel laughed off the comment easily, reminding Percy of how they ended up being friends despite that.

"So, how are you liking it so far? It seems… dreary," Rachel looked out the window at the rain, eyes narrows in distaste. The redhead definitely wasn't enjoying the weather. And she'd only been there for about an hour. It was definitely going to be a long week for her.

"It's not too bad. There's this place called La Push not far from here, and there's a beach," Percy offered, a grin on her face as she thought about the water.

"And how often have you been?" Rachel asked, a knowing smile on her face.

"Twice," Percy answered with a grin, making her friend laugh. Two visits to the beach in two days was something that Rachel could only expect from the Daughter of Poseidon. Given that her own parents hated the beach, she was excited that she'd had the opportunity to spend time there with her friend.

"And how did you meet that group your mum was telling me about?" Rachel questioned, thinking about the phone call she had with Sally while she was in a taxi on her way to Forks. Most people wouldn't have bothered taking a taxi from the air port for that distance. Rachel had the benefit of knowing that her parents would cover it without caring to ask.

"I was just sitting in the rain and this dude came up to me, and he and his friend insisted that I go over to dry off," she laughed lightly, thinking about how ridiculous it was. If only they knew that she was a daughter of Poseidon. But now she was still there sitting in Emily's clothes talking to Rachel.

"That's really nice of them."

"Well… it feels a bit… weird?" Percy wasn't sure how to explain her suspicions to her clear sighted friend. Rachel's head tilted to the side questioningly and Percy knew she had to try a little bit harder to explain. "They all have the same kind of build? Like really huge and muscular-"

"That sounds like a good think, not a weird thing," Rachel interrupted, teasing the halfblood that just gave her an unimpressed look. The demigod dropped herself face first onto the mattress on the ground, figuring she could give Rachel her bed for a few days. She'd slept in way more uncomfortable situations after all. Plus, it gave her better access to the door if they were attacked. After a few moments, she lifted her head to look back at Rachel.

"It's like… you know when the monsters look human for a moment, and they're all alike and muscular and the epitome of perfect? They've got that, but then they seem friendly and human. And the girls that are with them are also just… normal. And I know they're probably human but I can't help but feel on edge?" she rambled lightly, before dropping her face back down and talking straight into her pillow. "You wouldn't understand."

"Am I going to meet these muscular, potential monsters?" Rachel asked, trying not to disagree with her friend. Being a clear sighted mortal and being a demigod were two very different things, and because of that Rachel knew to trust her friends instincts.

Even if the demigod in question had tried to stab her when they first met.

"Tomorrow," Percy responded, voice still muffled by the pillow her face was buried in. Rachel gave her a questioning looking until Percy looked up at her again, letting out a groan as she saw her friends expression. "They invited me, and by me I mean us, to a picnic at the beach. It's meant to be sunny."

"How on Earth did that end up happening?" Rachel was laughing as she asked that, her green eyes twinkling in amusement.

"One of the guys looked upset when I left," Percy murmured, her mind flashing back to Seth. Somehow she'd felt bad at the upset look she'd noticed on his face, though she didn't know why.

For Rachel, the entire thing was priceless. She was overly happy that she had decided to visit her friend. Persis Jackson, a powerful demigod, was struggling as she was trying to deal with a guy that she barely knew. Rachel Elizabeth Dare smiled internally, figuring that she'd try and help her friend. Tomorrow, she would try to figure out whether or not this guy was in fact a monster. And once she was satisfied that he was just a guy that was interested in her friend, she was going to find out what this guy was interested in.

* * *

Seth was excited.

He'd been excited all morning, waiting for the pack to go to the beach. It was mainly for the possibility of seeing his imprint. Leah had rolled her eyes at breakfast, but even she had smiled at her brother's antics. And their mother? She seemed just as excited as Seth that he had imprinted on someone.

When it got to twelve, Seth's excitement had morphed into nervousness and even fear.

"What if she doesn't show up?" he commented all of a sudden, eyes widening in slight panic as the thought set in that perhaps she had only agreed to go to the beach with them to appease the group as she was leaving the previous night.

"Then she might come another time," his sister responded dryly. Her words would never manage to display the same care for her brother that her actions did, but in this case even her biting comments were helping him calm down. Nodding his head, Seth tried to stay calm. She sighed, rolling her eyes as she stood up. "Come on," she muttered, heading towards the door.

The siblings had quickly phased outside in the woods, making their way to Emily's where they had agreed to meet up. The moment they got there, the smell of food was evident, no doubt Emily had spent a few hours baking already. Seth and Leah had entered without knocking, finding the rest of the pack, aside from Paul and Quil who were on patrol, complaining in the living room. Apparently Emily had kicked them all out of the kitchen and was refusing to give them anything.

"Boys, can you help get these things into the car? And don't eat any!" Emily had practically ordered, though a smile was on her face as she watched them do as she asked. She quickly slapped Brady's hand away from the cookies that she was just putting into a box with an amused laugh. "You can eat them when we get to the beach. Just make sure that you leave some for Percy as well!"

Once the ridiculous load of food was loaded into the car they were off, headed towards the normal spot on the beach near the cliffs. It would double as a chance for them to go cliff diving as well as just enjoying the good weather.

Mechanically, Seth assisted with unloading the food and helping to set up the area. He never complained about that, always happy to help, but in this case the young werewolf's mind was set on catching sight of his imprint. Even if he had no idea where she'd be or whether she would come.

He couldn't spot her anywhere along the beach, his heart sinking at the thought that maybe he was right. Maybe she had just agreed to come for a picnic to appease the group, rather than a desire to actually spend time with them.

Hadn't she enjoyed their company last night?

"Go Rachel!" a familiar voice called. It was her voice, he knew that much, and immediately swivelled his head around to the ocean. Despite the distance, he could still see her well, and he could hear her laughter ringing out. She was sitting on a surfboard, a girl nearby who he supposed was 'Rachel' trying to stand up before she fell over. "You're getting better?" she called to her friend, head tilted to the side.

"Shut up Percy," the red head called back at her, only making Percy laugh as the red head walked out of the water, seeming to struggle with the surfboard.

His imprint however had turned around, looking towards the ocean. She began to paddle out suddenly, and for a moment Seth was unaware of why she was doing that before he also sensed the wave that was picking up. With a surprising amount of grace, she'd easily caught the wave she sensed before he did.

"Did anyone feel that wave coming?" he asked them curiously, though it seemed that no one had been paying attention to the exchange between the girls.

"You're a showoff," Rachel called called out, though he was certain that Percy wouldn't have been able to hear her.

It was shortly after that she lost her balance, falling backwards off of the board. Rachel stood waiting calmly for Percy to surface again, though Seth was worried that she hadn't already. It had to have been 30 seconds. Right when he was about to go and make sure she was alright, she resurfaced, this time headed back to the beach instead of the water.

The red head had murmured something to Percy, causing the girl in question to turn, looking straight at the pack. Seth raised a hand to wave, catching the attention of his pack mates. The girl smiled, giving a wave in return as the both of them moved towards the group.

Wearing a bikini showed off the girl's lean and muscled body even more. Even Paul, who had a tendency to continue teasing him about Percy let out a low whistle that drew a soft growl from the youngest wolf.

Seth was unsure of what he should do as they approached, though Emily had stood without hesitation. He watched, seeing how Rachel's eyes had lingered on Emily's scars. Briefly his mind wandered to yesterday, where Percy's eyes had briefly scanned the scars but didn't linger. She had seen similar, unlike Rachel. It was the only explanation he could think of.

"Hi, I'm Emily," she introduced herself, pulling Rachel into a hug given that she was wrapped in a towel. She paused for a moment, looking at Percy who already seemed to be dry, before pulling her into a hug as well. "Nice to see you again," she commented to the girl.

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," the red head had introduced herself, smiling as she sat herself down with the group without hesitation. Percy followed her friend's example.

Seth was just happy she had come.


End file.
